Just Perfect
by WildFlower084
Summary: Bones gets a call from Booth, telling her he really needs to talk to her. Oneshot.


_This is actually the first Bones fan fic I wrote. Sorry if my english is a bit bad in that one. Before I wrote this story, I hadn't written anything in english in ages so I was a bit rusty. :-)_

* * *

Temperance gathered all of her stuff. It was time to go home. It was past midnight, she was too tired to continue. A good night's sleep was what she needed. The events of the previous week had been too much for her and she needed time to sort them out. She hadn't had the time, of course, after the discovery of the two children's bodies but now, she felt like she needed a break. 

She turned off the lights to her office and headed towards the elevator. Suddenly, the lights in the hallway became too bright.

"Great, just what I need! Another migrain." Tempe thought to herself as she felt her head starting to pound.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. She pressed the ground button and the door closed in front of her.

Flashes of this week's events flashed before her eyes. The two bodies found at the bottom of the lake, the look on Booth's face when he had seen the two bodies, the look on her crew's face as she unzipped the bags in their lab. She was used to seeing dead children but for some reason this case had affected her deeply.

The elevator doors opened once again and Temperance stepped out of the shaft. Her footsteps echoed through the Jeffersionian Lab.

She was greeted outside by a cool breeze. For anAprilnight, it was pretty frisky. Cursing the cold wind, she walked in the night to her car. She avoided looking around. Not because she was scared but mostly because she felt uncomfortable. Something in the air was not right.

She picked up the pace but she didn't have too far to walk. She unlocked the door of her car, sat down in it, closed the door and turned on the car. She put it in reverse and got out of the parking lot.

The streets were empty, except for the occasional prostitutes working the graveyard shift. It always made her sad to see them standing outside alone, in the dark, waiting for some man to give them some work. She also found it disgraceful. How those women could do this to themselves simply appalled her.

Fortunately for her, she didn't have to stay on the main street very long. Ten minutes after leaving her work's parking lot, she turned onto a side street leading to her apartment building. Another five minutes and she was parking her car in her parking lot, climbing up the stairs to her apartment on the third floor, unlocking her door and stepping into the dark apartment.

She turned on the lights in the entrance, took off her shoes and headed down the now a little lit hallway. She noticed the red light on her answering machine. She pressed the button.

Four new messages were waiting for her. The first one was from her sister. Nothing interesting there. The second one, on the hand, was pretty interesting.

"_Hey Bones, it's Booth. Not that you care but um... I was just calling to tell you that I'm ok. Actually, I came out of the hospital this morning. Doc gave me some pain killers. Can't say it doesn't help much. Anywaythere's something I wanted to talk to you about. So call me back, will you?"_

The third one was from her colleague, Angela.

"_Hey Brenn. I was just calling to make sure you were ok there. It's been great being on vacation but I've missed you. Zack told me what happened to Booth. I'm so sorry. I hope he'll be ok soon. I guess you're not home so I'll just see you on Monday. Bye."_

She was getting ready to erase her messages when a familiar voice talked.

"_Hey, it's me again. I guess you're not home. Damn it, Bones, you work way too much. Anyway I really need to talk to you about something so give me a call ok?"_

Intruiged, she waited a few more seconds to see if there would be more messages. There wasn't. She erased all of them. All of these calls could wait until morning. Right now, she just needed to get some sleep.

She turned off the light in the entrance and slowly made her way through her room. She turned on the lights there and quickly got ready for bed. Her body was claiming sleep. She got undressed, put on her PJs, brushed her teeth and went to sleep.

She dreamed of burned children and injured Booths. She even dreamed about herself, being the Jane Doe they had found in the lake. Nevertheless, when she woke up at 11:00 am the next day, she was feeling refreshed. She was ready to go to the lab and finish up on the burned children.

She heard the phone ring but she didn't feel like picking it up. She went to take a shower instead. She got out, twenty minutes later, wrapped her towelaround herself and another oneon her head. As she passed in front of the answering machine, she saw the little red flashing light again. Another message.

"_Brennan, I refuse to see you at the office today. Actually, I refuse to see you at all this week. Your team's been telling me how much you have worked in the past few months and you deserve a break. Take the week off, I don't mind. Take as much time as you need. But I am telling you. If I see you today, I will personally drag you back to your apartment. Did I make myself clear?"_

Tempe chuckled at her boss's attitude. As much as she dreaded vacation and time alone, and as much as I she felt guilty leaving the two burned children behind, she desperately needed some time off. Maybe she could go on a last-minute trip somewhere. Maybe the beach was what she needed. She'd think about it.

She made herself some coffee before going back into her bathroom to blowdry her hair. When that was done, she got dressed and went back to the kitchen for some breakfast. Her fridge was empty. She would have to do the groceries.

After breakfast, she suddenly found herself pretty bored. She would usually have gone to the office but being banned from itfor the week, her only remainder was the grocery store. She went to get her purse and went on her way.

She came back two hours later with enough food to feed a starving army. After putting everything away, she once again found herself bored out of her mind. She tried watching a little bit of TV but switched it off after fifteen minutes. None of the shows playing looked interesting. She tried reading a book but that didn't do it. She was restless. She HAD to do something.

The message she had heard the previous night sprang in her mind. She had completely forgotten about it. She could go see him. After all, she didn't have anything else to do. The words "There's something I need to tell you" rang through her head. What did he mean?

"Well there's only one way to find out." She thought to herself.

She took her purse, put on her shoes and left to go see her colleague.

* * *

Three knocks were heard. Booth groaned. 

"Argh, who could this be? I just got comfortable." He mumbled as he got up from the couch, grabbed his crutches and slowly walked towards the door.

He was surprised to see Brennan standing right in front of him when he opened the door.

"Bones!" he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see if you were ok."

"Ya I'm fine. Do you... do you wanna come in?"

"Sure."

Booth stepped aside to let his partner in.

"You got my messages then?"

"Yeah actually I did. That's why I came over."

"I see. Would you like a drink or something?"

"No thanks, I'm all good."

The two of them stood, in silence. The air was growing with akwardness. Neither of them spoke, both looked in different direction, obviously avoiding to look at each other. They had been working together for almost a year and the awkwardness between them was pretty much gone now but being here is his appartment was too much for her.

"Uh Bones. I kinda need to sit down." Booth said, after a while, getting tired of standing up.

"Oh... right. I forgot you can't stand for long."

They walked to the living room.

"Here, let me help you." Temperance said.

She helped him sit down and brought the coffee table a bit closer so he could put his foot on it. She lifted his leg up, put a cushion under it then rested his foot back on the cushion.

"Wow! I should get shot more often." he said, jokingly.

"Don't get used to this," Tempe replied. "I don't go maternal like this very often."

Their eyes met for a split second before the awkwardness settled back in. Tempe cleared her throat and went to sit in an armchair close to the couch.

"So, what did the doctors say?"

"Well they said I was lucky. The bullets went through my leg but didn't do too much damage. I still can't feel a thing in my left leg but the doctors say that it's just a matter of time before the sensation comes back."

"What about your head?"

"Pretty much the same thing. Not too much damage. I had a small concussion but it's cleared up now."

"You fell from pretty high."

"Not high enough to hurt me more than that. I was very lucky."

"Yes, you were."

"How about you? What have you been up to these days?"

"Oh nothing much. Just working on the case."

"The Doe children?"

"Well ya except now we call them Emily and Jack Perry."

"You identified them?"

"Actually Angela's replacement did."

"What was her name?"

"Rosemerta."

"Oh ya... weird name huh? Well I guess it goes with the type of person she is."

"Booth!"

"What?"

The two of them laughed. Rosemerta was in fact pretty weird, almost always mumbling to herself and cursing under breath. Tempe had gotten used to it but Booth apparently had not.

"What else did you learn?"

"Well, after Rosemerta drew the faces, we sent the pictures to the FBI and local police. Maybe two hours later we got a call from Agent Troy and he told us that he had a file who matched the drawing of the children."

"You talked to Troy and you managed to survive?"

"Yeah he's not so much a talker, isn't he?"

"Lacks social intelligence, if that's what you meant."

"Whatever. Anyway. It turned out that the children are 6 and 8, Emily being the oldest.They disappeared from their house about six months ago after their house burned down."

"Whoa, what do you mean after their house burned down?"

"Nobody really knows what happened. The Fire Department got called to the Perry house six months ago for a code 2 fire. There were supposed to be seven people inside the house: the parents, the grandparents, a friend of Emily who was staying over, Emily herself and Jack. The parents got out of the house fine, the grandparents got minor burnsand Emily's friend suffered from major burn injuries. She was sent to the hospital immediately after being taken out of the fire. But the two other children were nowhere to be found. They searched the house during the fire and after it was out and found nothing. They searched the surroundings as well but still found nothing. After a week of searching, the police stopped looking and the parents never heard from them again. They simply told them that there was nothing else they could do. The fire turned out accidental so there was no reason to search for a kidnapper or an arsonist."

"Well what about the girl? Emily's friend? Does she know where Emily and Jake went?"

"That's the thing. She doesn't remember anything. The only thing she told investigators is that Emily and Jake were there in the room when the firefighter came to get her but the firefighter doesn't remember seeing anybody else in the room."

"Do you think she's lying?"

"How should I know?"

"Well I guess we'll have to investigate."

"Ya well you will when you get better. I've been banned from the lab."

"Really? That's pretty neat. You'll be able to keep me company."

"What about Tessa?"

Booth's face suddenly turned serious.

"Actually that's why I called you over."

"Really? To talk to me about your girlfriend?"

"EX-girlfriend. We broke up."

"Really? When?"

"When I was in the hospital."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I realized that she wasn't the one for me. And I realized something else. When that guy aimed the gun at you, I got really scared. I really thought he was going to shoot you."

"I know. That's why you stepped in front of me. Cliché but charming."

"Thanks. Actually, at the momentthe gun was aimed at you, I wanted to be the one who died."

"Why?"

"Because you can live without me but I don't think I'd be able to live without you."

"Booth... wha... what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I would like to give "us" a chance. You never know, it might work out."

"Was there ever an "us"?"

"There could be."

"Booth... I..."

She looked up at her friend and was about to continue when the phone interupted them.

"Aren't you going to get that?"

"I'm busy right now." Booth replied, never once breaking the eye contact.

The phone kept on ringing but neither of them said anything. Booth was patiently waiting for her to say something but Brennan had no intention on adding anything. She didn't know what to say. Did she like Booth? Maybe. Was her heart racing at the moment? Obviously. But the words stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out.

The answering machine finally picked up. A familiar voice filled the room.

"Hey honey, it's me. Listen I'm coming over tonight, ok? Can't wait to see you. I miss you."

Then they heard her hung up.

"So you guys broke up, huh?" Brennan said as she got up.

Booth tried to get up but only managed to fall back down on the couch. Casting him a very evil look, Brennan said:

"I can see myself to the door, thank you."

With that,she left Booth's place, leaving a very confused and angry Booth behind her.

* * *

It had been a couple of hour since Brennan had left Booth's apartment but she wa still pissed. He had told her that he had broken up with his girlfriend and there she was, a couple of minutes later, calling him and telling him she'd be stopping by later that day. It wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't said that she missed him and her voice hadn't been so cheery. 

The doorbell rang. Reluctantly, she got up from the couch where she had been lying and walkd to the door. When she opened it, she was happy to see her friend standing in front of her.

"I came as fast as I could." Angela said as she walked in the apartment.

Tempe smiled meakly andwent back to the couch, letting herself fall on it.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked her, suddenly concerned.

"Oh I just think I made the biggest mistake of my life."

"Why? What did you do?" her friend asked as she sat down in front of the couch.

Brennan was lying on her side, an arm under the side of her head. She looked depressed and her hair was all messy from having been smashed on the couch for the last few hours.

"Come on, sweetie, talk to me."

But Brennan didn't talk. She didn't know how to put words on her feelings. She wanted to explain to Angela what she was feeling but she couldn't. At the moment, she was wishing her friend could read her mind.

The phone picked that exact moment to start ringing. Angela looked at her friend expectantly but Brennan still didn't move. She had a pretty good gut feeling on who was calling and she didn't want to talk to him.

"Aren't you going toget that?" Angela asked.

"I know who it is. Mymachine willtake it."

"How do you know the person will leave a message?"

"Oh I know."

And she was right. Seconds later, they heard Brennan's machine take the call and Brennan's voice filled the quiet room.

"Hi. You've reached my place but I'm obviously not here. Just leave a message, I'll call you back some other time."

The beep was immediately followed by a message.

"_It's a big load of crap, your message, because I know you're there. You just don't want to talk to me. I guess I can't blame you. Anyway. I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Tessa but... you know, I don't really want to tell you this on your answering machine. Please come over. We need to talk... again. I can't get out much so you can come whenever you want. Just make sure you do."_

Brennan heard him hang up. The answering machine saved the message and quiet came back to the room. Angela turned to face her friend who was looking down and avoiding eye contact.

"So that's why you're like this. It's because of Booth. What happened?"

But Brennan didn't want to talk about it anymore. She just wanted to forget Booth, forget the feelings she felt for him and the feelings she felt at that particular moment. He had sounded sad on the message and she now felt guilty. She knew it was because of her that he felt like that but she didn't want to admit it.

"Tempe, if you don't tell me right now, I'm gonna call Booth myself and ask him what happened."

"He told me he liked me." Brennan finally replied.

"WHAT? You're kidding, right?"

"Actually, his exact words were: "I would like to give "us" a chance"."

"And? What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing?"

And Brennan, somehow finding the words ths time, explained to her what had happened at Booth's place. Everything from helping him sit down on the couch to when she left his place. Angela simply listened, didn't say anything and waited until Brennan was finishedto expresswhat she thought.

"Sweetie, I'm pretty sure that Booth really did break up with his girlfriend. I'm getting the feeling she just thought he was joking."

"But how can you be so sure?"

"I don't know, I just know. I know you like him, Tempe, don't try denying it, and he likes you too so you could be missing out on something really amazing. Come on, get up, go take a shower and get dressed. I'll call Booth and tell him you're going to be there in a couple of hours."

"No, don't do that. I'll call him myself."

Brennan slowly got up, stretched and then walked to the phone. She picked it up, dialed Booth's number. He must have been close to the phone, waiting for her to call because he picked up after the second ring. She told him that they indeed needed to talk and that she would be there in an hour. Then they hung up.

Somehow her short conversation with Booth had given her her smile back.

"Well I'm gonna hit the shower." She told Angela. "Feel free to watch TV or get something to eat if you want."

And she headed to the bathroom.

She came out of the shower twenty-five minutes later. She rarely took that long in the shower but tonight, she had just wanted to relax. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked to her room. She closed the door behind her, locked it and went to sit at her dresser. She plugged her blowdryer into the wall and turned it on.

She took her time drying her hair. As usual, her hair started to curl. As soon as it was dry, she took out her straightner and straightned them. She was about to apply her make-up when someone knocked on her door.

"Tempe, can I come?" Angela asked from the hallway.

"Give me a minute to get dressed." Tempe replied.

She got up and walked to her closet. When she opened it, she quickly scanned her clothes but couldn't find anything "perfect".

"Angela, I think I might need your help."

"For what?"

"I don't know what to wear."

Angela smiled.

"Open your door and I'll help you find something."

She readjusted her towel, unlocked her door and opened it. Angela stepped in.

"OK, Tempe, your closet is full of clothes." Angela said aftergetting a quick-scanof her bestfriend's closet. "Don't tell me you don't know what to wear."

"I can't find the perfect outfit."

Angela turned to look at her friend. She must have had given her a weird look because Tempe immediately asked why she was looking at her that way.

"I don't know. I guess I just didn't know you could be like... THAT."

"Like what?"

"Like that. You just told me you couldn't find the_perfect_ outfit. The TemperanceI know wouldn't talk like that. You must like Booth more than you let it show."

"Come on Angela, it's not the time for this, OK? I told Booth I'd be at his place in an hour and that hour is almost up. You _need_ to help me."

She was panicking, she knew it, she was being irrational,but she couldn't help it. She had never been like this before and everything felt so surreal. Of course she had had lovers in the past but not one of them made her feel the way she was feeling right now. She was finally letting herself go and it didn't feel as bad as she thought it would.

Angela simply looked at her friend and couldn't help but smile. She was really happy for her. She knew how Brennan had felt when she had found out Booth had a girlfriend and she knew that under her rough 'n tough attitude, Brennan had wondered over the months if Booth didn't in facthave feelings for her, in spite of his girlfriend. But now it was allclear. Booth was interested in her friend and she couldn't be happier for her.

"OK, let's find your perfect outfit."

They browsed through her closet for a good five minutes. Angela took out everything she thought could be perfect and threw it on the bed. Tempe simply looked through her closet but couldn't find anything perfect. When they finally met in the middle of the closet, they both came out and Angela showed her friend what she could wear.

"I don't know, Angela. None of them seem perfect."

"OK, Brennan, listen to me."

Brennan turned to look at her friend. "You're supposed to leave for Booth's place in five minutes. Now I will call him and tell him you'll be a little late and when I come back, I want to see you wearing one of these. Maybe I'm being harsh at the moment but I'm doing this for your own good."

Angela left the room and Brennan heard her walk to the living room. She wasn't joking. She was really calling Booth. Her heart started racing at the thought of her friend talking to him. She even found herself thinking Angela was so lucky to be hearing his voice at that particular moment.

"Snap out of it, Brennan!" she told herself.

She turned to look at the clothes piled up on her bed. She looked at them but she couldn't find anything she wanted to wear. Then, she saw it. It was hidden under her brown skirt and her greenish top. She had bought this skirt ages ago but had never really worn it. It was perfect.

The weather had been nice for an end of April afternoon. That skirt would be perfect. It was a skirt that she would qualify as a spring skirt. It was long, thin and very light blue. She took the skirt from under the pile and put it aside. Now, all she needed was to find a shirt.

She didn't want to wear a tank top. After all, it was almost seven and the night could be cold. She found a white t-shirt in one of her drawers and added it to the skirt. Now all she needed was to find a jacket to put on top and she would be done.

Angela still seemed to be on the phone with Booth. Frowning, she went to her drawer and took out a bra and a pair of underwear. As she was getting dressed, she tried to listen to what was going on in her living room. But Angela must have been whispering because she couldn't hear a thing.

She was putting on her make-up when Angela came back in her bedroom.

"That's more like it." Angela said as she looked at her friend. "So is that the perfect outfit?"

"Almost. I just need to finish this up and add one more thing and I'll be ready. What took you so long? You've been gone at least ten minutes."

"Booth and I were just chatting."

"About what?"

"About you."

Tempe, who had been putting on mascara, almost stabbed herself in the eye. She turned to look at her friend.

"I was just joking." Angela said.

Tempe turned back to her mirror.

"Actually, we were just discussing the case of the Perry's."

"Really?"

"Really."

A few seconds of silence then followed.

"There, I'm done."

Tempe looked at herself once more in the mirror, got up and went to get her light blue jacket from her closet. She put it on and turned to her friend.

"So, what do you think?"

"Booth's gonna go nuts! You're just... perfect."

"Yeah?"

Tempe went to stand in front of her mirror. She was indeed perfect. She took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

The two friends left the room and headed towards the door. They put on their shoes and Angela took one more look at her friend.

"I wish I could go with you."

"I know, me too."

"So what do you think will happen? What are you going to say to him?"

"Well there are some stuff we need to talk about but I don't know how it's going to turn out. I don't even know what I'mgoing todo or what I'm going to say when he's going to open his door."

"I'm sure you'll dojust fine.Call me when you have thechance, to tell me how it went."

"I will."

The two girls hugged and then Angela walked out.

Brennan took a couple of minutes to locate her keys. She couldn't remember where she had last left them. She remembered going straight to the couch when she had arrived earlier this afternoon.

She found her keys on the coffee table. As she bent down to pick them up, she looked up at her couch. Wow! Who would have thought that two hours ago, a very depressed woman had been lying on the couch? Now she was all dressed up to go see the man who had made her depressed in the first place. She couldn't believe she was doing this. This was so unlike her. But, then again, maybe it was for the best.

* * *

Booth couldn't sit still. If he hadn't been wearing a brace, he would have been pacing back and forth in his apartment. He had showered as best as he could, was dressed in what he thought made him look his best and had spiked his hair the way Angela said made him look hot and irresistible. He still didn't know what he was going to say or do when he was going to see her but at least he felt great. 

He heard the tires screech in his driveway. He knew she was here. His heart started to race. He couldn't believewhat she was doing to him.What was so great about her, anyway?

"Everything!" his mind told him.

And he had to agree with it.

Seconds later he heard the car door slam shut. He stayed put and waited for her to ring the doorbell. When she did, he waited a few more seconds before slowly walking to the door. He didn't want to make it seem like he had been impatiently and desperately waiting for her for the past 30 minutes.

He slowly opened the door and was going to greet her when the words simply stuck in his throat.

"Wow!" was all he managed to say after what seemed like an eternity.

"Thanks..." Tempe replied, slightly blushing.

Thathad beenactually whyshe had taken such a long time picking up her outfit. She had wanted that reaction from him. It had been her plan from the start and she had gotten what she wanted.

"Come in." He told her.

He moved out of the way so she could come inside. As she stepped inside, the events from the afternoon rushed to her and she fought to keep them from getting to her.

She felt two hands on her shoulders.

"You look great." Booth said to her.

He had wanted to kiss her on the head but had changed his mind. Instead, heled her to the living room.

Once again, Tempe helped him get comfortable on the couch.

"I thought you didn't go maternal very often." Booth said to her.

"Yeah wellI guess today's the day."

She looked at him and their eyes locked. She smiled at him.

"Sit." He told her, gently.

This time she sat down beside him, sideways she could face him. Her leg bent on the couch made her knee touch his leg. Shivers ran through her.

"I'm really sorry about this afternoon, Tempe. Really, I am. I had broken up with Tessawhen I wasin the hospital but she had thought thatit had been the medication talking. She had decided to give me a couple of days to get used to them and then she was going to call me when she thought I had regained my senses."

"So you told her it's really over?" Tempe asked him, a lump forming in her throat.

She didn't know why she was being so emotional. Maybe it was because, for once in her life, she was living a fairy tale and didn't want it to end.

"Yes and I made it quite clear."

"Did she come over?"

"Yes, almost right after you left. I gave her all of her stuff and told her that this wasn't going to work out."

"Did she ask why you were breaking up with her?"

"Yes."

"And what did you say?"

"I just said that I had found someone else. Someone more suitable for me. Someone who made want to hold her at the same time push her away. Someone who could my heart beat faster. Someone that I loved to hate so much that it made me fall in love with her."

"Really? You told her all of that?"

"No. But I'm telling you."

Brennan smiled again. Booth felt her throat go dry. This was it. It was the moment of truth. He swallowed before asking his question.

"You never answered me, Tempe. Do you think it would be possible to give us a chance?"

"Well I'm here, aren't I?"

"Answer me, Temperance."

"Yes, it would be possible."

Booth's smile was so huge that Brennan couldn't help feeling proud. She was the one making him smile like that. But his smile didn't last long because he immediately moved in to kiss her. She closed the remaining distance. Their hearts beat faster as they experienced their first kiss. Time just seem to sit still and they felt like they had been kissing for an eternity when they pulled away even if it had only lasted no more than twenty seconds.

"So, now that that's settled, want towatch a movie or something? I took the liberty of renting us two movies this afternoon."

"How did you know I would come back?"

"What time did you get back to your house this afternoon?"

"I don't know. Three o'clock, three-thirty."

"And what time did you call Angela?"

She was going to answer when everything hit her. She shook her head as if she couldn't believe it.

"Basically, no matter what, I was coming here tonight."

"Pretty much."

Brennan let out a small laugh.

"Where are they?"

"On the kitchen table."

She kissed him quickly before getting up and going in the kitchen to get the movies. She came back moments later with them, put one in the DVD player and Booth pressed play. She then went to sit beside him, Booth wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to him. And it's with her head on his shoulder that she watched the first movie and half of the second one, and that, around 11:00 pm, she fell asleep, a smile on her face. The whole night had been indeed... just perfect.


End file.
